THE REPUBLICAN CONUNDRUM

FLORIDA  

Opinion by:  
E. Eugene Webb PhD

I never really thought it would come down to this. The Republican Party, the party of Lincoln and Reagan in total disarray worshipping at the feet of a complete despot.

As a lifelong Republican, I had always thought that the political demise of the US democracy would take place at the behest of a Democratic Party moving towards socialism while taking control of the presidency and the Congress. Never in my wildest imagination that I think that what we are experiencing in the current presidential race would be a complete and total disregard of democracy, as our Constitution defines it, led by an imploding Republican Party.

Most disconcerting to me, has been the fact that much of the strength of Donald Trump comes from my generation, the trailing baby boomers.

Helping fuel the passion for Donald Trump embraced by the trailing baby boomers, there is a growing far right wing of the Republican Party that somehow got elected by representing only themselves.

As Republicans, what we are left with is a once vital and dedicated Republican Party now shattered into warring groups unable to function as a governing political party.

As our political structure begins to further fragment into multiple political parties and movements, much of the stability of a two-party system which this country has enjoyed for over 250 years is slipping away from us.

For those of us long associated with the Republican Party this has been a dismal decline in what had been a reliable structure of governance.

The question that now remains as we watch the outcome of the Republican National Convention take shape is: as a traditional Republican what are you going to do?

It is almost certain that Donald Trump will come out of the Republican National Convention as the Republican presidential candidate. It is clear that Trump and his authoritarian views represent the far right, and the Christian evangelical Republican base.

Here is the real question: does Donald Trump really represent you?

If you are like me, you have grown weary of the constant tirades against Trump by the liberal left leaning print and electronic media and you're probably equally tired of Fox News.

Until all the legal trials play out and we finally see what is left standing, it is going to be difficult to reach a conclusion as to what you will do as a Republican in this upcoming election.

It is important, however, to take serious note of how fragile our democracy is, and how quickly one individual can so dramatically reshape the landscape while endangering all our freedoms.

My biggest hope is that us who call ourselves Republicans will not be led to the voting booth as a flock of sheep while hoping everything will work out all right if they vote for Trump.

Because it simply will not.

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